Everyone wants to win the Yard of the Month Award. This coveted award is offered by many cities, towns, communities, and home owners associations for the yard in the area which has strong curb appeal, quality design, and has shown significant improvements over time.  If your community has an available list of criteria which are graded for choosing the Yard of the Month, see if you can obtain a copy, but in lieu of that, this "cheat sheet" will get you well on the road toward earning this coveted award.

An arbor is simply an arch formed by metal or, in a few cases, wicket which creates an area on which vines can spiral and support themselves. Metal arbors last for many years and can be repainted when they begin to show signs of age, making them as good as new. You may be familiar with arbors when you think of grapes grown for making wine because the vines grow up on arbors. These structures are not expensive to purchase and add a unique touch to any garden.

A popular location for arbor placement is along a walkway so that people can walk under the twined vines growing on the arbor structure. But an arbor can be placed anywhere you would like a focal point that provides high in the garden or landscape. It can be placed in the center of a square garden to provide height, drawing the eye upward while the lower-growing plants ….